On the Memorization of Texts ...

Here is a wordcount list of some worthwhile speeches/sermons I've compiled for comparison:  See any glaring omissions? Please let me know.

41 - Theoden's "Ride to Gondor" Speech
78 – Luther’s “Here I Stand” speech
92 - Aragorn's speech before the Black Gates [film version]
111 – Apostles’ Creed
225 – Nicene Creed
267 – Paul at Mars Hill [before being stopped short by the crowd – Acts 17]
271 – Mark Antony’s [Shakespeare’s] ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen’ speech
278 – Lincoln’s Gettysburg address
407 – Shakespeare’s Saint Crispin’s Day speech
478 – Benjamin Franklin’s Call to Prayer at the Constitutional Convention
523 – Peter’s Pentecost sermon [Acts 2]
648 – Paul’s sermon to Agrippa [Acts 26]
657 – Athanasian Creed
896 – Paul’s Epistle to Titus
1,028 – Patrick Henry’s “Give me Liberty” Speech
1,236 – Stephen’s sermon to the Sanhedrin before his martyrdom
1,320 – The Declaration of Independence
1,382 – JFK’s – “Ask not” Inaugural Address
1,666 – MLK’s “I have a dream” speech
1,666- Paul’s Last Epistle [2nd Timothy]
1,928 – Olivet Discourse [Matthew 24-5]
2,304 – James’ Epistle
2,412 – Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5-7]
2,423 – Psalm 119
2,743 – Luther’s 95 Theses
2,854 – The Didache [R-D Trans]
4,144 – Westminster Shorter Catechism [w/o proofs]
4,246 – Gallic [French] Confession
5,330 – C.S. Lewis’s “The Weight of Glory” sermon
5,933 – Sozhenitsyn’s “A World Split Apart” Harvard Address
6,069 – Washington’s farewell address
6,696 – Spurgeon’s “Hairs of Your Head” Providence Sermon
6,897 – The letter to the Hebrews
7,184 – Jonathan Edwards’ Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
8,180 – 12 Commandments from Shepherd of Hermas [R-D Trans]
8,375 – Heidelberg Catechism [w/o footnotes or proofs]
9,078 – Belgic Confession
12,123 – 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith w/ Footnotes/Proofs
13,143 – Clement’s Epistle to the Corinthian Church
15,406 – Westminster Larger Catechism
23,918 – Athanasius’ On the Incarnation
33,760 – 2nd Helvetic Confession [w/ headings and proofs]
~80,000 – Torah [5 books of Moses]
169,751 – English New Testament


In the NKJV Romans has 9495 words [7111 in the Greek]; 16 chapters; 433 verses. It takes roughly 60 minutes to read/recite them all.

Tips for memorization:
Getting into recollection from repetition/reading mode is the key. Use finish-this-sentence exercises, fill-in-the-blank programs. I found that simply flipping the page upside down helps get me from reading to remembering/reciting more quickly. There is a SUPER tool online that will convert the text into a list of the first letter of each word. This is the main tool I’ve used thus far.
I’ve found that visualizing images for each line is cumbersome and actually more difficult than simply remembering the words. I’m hoping to implement a hybrid of the visualization method to navigate through the outline, but not the text itself.
Lastly, memory research suggests that context is key – so understanding the text’s flow of thought [which for Romans is quite conversational and rambling] - having the book outline set into your mental concrete is essential. Studies also show that your memory is more receptive on an empty stomach – so just before meals is a prime time to spend a few minutes for memory work.